Focusing on the Six Traits of Writing, Reading Strategies, Motivation, and Nonfiction

six traits of writing

We all have an inner exclamation mark. The question is, how do we find it? The story of the exclamation mark and how it took him a little time to figure out what he wanted to say and how to say it.

Lesson Idea:

Mentor Text: Conventions/Finding Your Inner Self: Exclamation Mark is an excellent mentor text for two very different topics. On a surface level, use Exclamation Mark as a mentor text when discussing conventions and end marks in particular. The font size in the text makes for excellent discussion around the use of the exclamation mark. On a deeper level, the Exclamation Mark is a metaphor for finding your inner self and sharing it with the world.

Kyle is dreading his first trip aboard the school bus, but his big brother James is an expert. James gives Kyle ten rules for riding the bus if he wants to avoid getting laughed at or yelled at, pushed around, or even pounded.

Lesson Idea:

Six Traits Mentor Text: Organization: Read aloud Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus and discuss the organization style of the author (a list of sorts). Let students choose the topic or provide them with a content area for which to write a list. Encourage students to mimic the style in a piece of writing, perhaps “Ten Rules to Survive Recess” or “Ten Rules to Survive the Cafeteria.”

How hard can it be to babysit a fish? That’s what Jake thinks when Sophie asks him to take care of Yo-Yo for the weekend. Then Jake starts to over think what it means to take care of a fish.

Lesson Idea:

Six Traits Mentor Text: Organization: Read aloud Sophie’s Fish as part of a unit on the craft of endings. Sophie’s Fish is a great example of a surprise ending, but the illustrator shares the surprise, not the author. Read aloud other mentor texts that demonstrate surprise endings. Encourage students to write a surprise ending for one of their writing pieces.